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Charles Bradley

F1 qualifying results: Max Verstappen takes Abu Dhabi GP pole

Verstappen will start ahead of teammate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from Perez

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay
[s]  
 Delay
[%]  
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'23.824 - -
2 11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1'24.052 0.228 0.272
3 16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'24.092 0.268 0.320
4 55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'24.242 0.418 0.499
5 44  Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'24.508 0.684 0.816
6 63  George Russell Mercedes 1'24.511 0.687 0.820
7 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.769 0.945 1.127
8 31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'24.830 1.006 1.200
9 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.961 1.137 1.356
10 14  Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1'25.096 1.272 1.517
11 22  Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1'25.219 1.395 1.664
12 47  Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1'25.225 1.401 1.671
13 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1'25.045 1.221 1.457
    3-place penalty for causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen in the previous race
14 18  Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'25.359 1.535 1.831
15 24  Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'25.408 1.584 1.890
16 20  Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'25.834 2.010 2.398
17 10  Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1'25.859 2.035 2.428
18 77  Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'25.892 2.068 2.467
19 23  Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'26.028 2.204 2.629
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1'26.054 2.230 2.660

What happened in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1?

Perez set the early pace at 1m24.820s before Verstappen took over in P1 by 0.066s on 1m24.754s.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third, three tenths off their pace but a tenth clear of teammate Leclerc.

Falling at the first hurdle were Brazilian GP poleman Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), and the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Perez

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'24.754     224.315
2 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'24.820 0.066 0.066 224.140
3 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'25.090 0.336 0.270 223.429
4 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'25.211 0.457 0.121 223.112
5 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'25.387 0.633 0.176 222.652
6 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1'25.523 0.769 0.136 222.298
7 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'25.545 0.791 0.022 222.240
8 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'25.594 0.840 0.049 222.113
9 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'25.594 0.840 0.000 222.113
10 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'25.630 0.876 0.036 222.020
11 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 1'25.711 0.957 0.081 221.810
12 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'25.735 0.981 0.024 221.748
13 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'25.741 0.987 0.006 221.732
14 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1'25.766 1.012 0.025 221.668
15 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'25.782 1.028 0.016 221.626
16 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 1'25.834 1.080 0.052 221.492
17 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1'25.859 1.105 0.025 221.428
18 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'25.892 1.138 0.033 221.343
19 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'26.028 1.274 0.136 220.993
20 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 1'26.054 1.300 0.026 220.926

What happened in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2?

Leclerc set the initial pace at 1m25.345s before Sainz beat him by three tenths.

Verstappen grabbed P1 with 1m24.862s but Perez then went to the top on 1m24.419s, over four tenths clear of the rest. Hamilton was best of the rest after the first runs, 0.355s down, in P2 with a 1m24.774s.

On the final runs, Leclerc took second quickest on 1m24.517s, with Sainz taking third – a tenth further back.

Knocked out at this point were Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Mick Schumacher (in his final qualifying session for Haas), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo).

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2 results: Perez fastest from Leclerc

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Delay %   Laps   km/h 
11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1'24.419     6 225.205
16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'24.517 0.098 0.116 6 224.944
55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'24.521 0.102 0.121 6 224.933
Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'24.622 0.203 0.240 6 224.664
44  Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'24.774 0.355 0.421 9 224.262
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.903 0.484 0.573 6 223.921
63  George Russell Mercedes 1'24.940 0.521 0.617 8 223.823
Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.974 0.555 0.657 6 223.734
31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'25.007 0.588 0.697 6 223.647
10  Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1'25.068 0.649 0.769 6 223.487
11  14  Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1'25.096 0.677 0.802 6 223.413
12  22  Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1'25.219 0.800 0.948 6 223.091
13  47  Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1'25.225 0.806 0.955 6 223.075
14  18  Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'25.359 0.940 1.113 6 222.725
15  24  Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'25.408 0.989 1.172 6 222.597

What happened in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3?

On the first runs, Sainz took provisional pole with 1m24.281s, ahead of Perez – who had a big moment at the final corner – and Leclerc. Verstappen then took over at the front with a lap of 1m23.988s, almost three tenths clear of the others.

On the final runs, Verstappen improved to 1m23.824s and was joined on the front row by Perez on 1m24.052s, who was 0.228s slower. Leclerc took P3 with 1m24.092s, beating Sainz who didn’t improve on his final lap. Hamilton jumped up to fifth with 1m24.508s.

George Russell will start sixth, ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Sebastian Vettel (ninth for his final GP with Aston Martin) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren, who has a three-place grid penalty for his clash with Magnussen at Interlagos).

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay   Delay %   Laps   km/h 
Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'23.824     6 226.803
11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1'24.052 0.228 0.272 6 226.188
16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'24.092 0.268 0.320 6 226.080
55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'24.242 0.418 0.499 6 225.678
44  Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'24.508 0.684 0.816 6 224.968
63  George Russell Mercedes 1'24.511 0.687 0.820 6 224.960
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'24.769 0.945 1.127 5 224.275
31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'24.830 1.006 1.200 6 224.114
Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'24.961 1.137 1.356 3 223.768
10  Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1'25.045 1.221 1.457 3 223.547
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